What Causes Marbling In Beef

But if marbling is what consumers want we can increase marbling at different times in the feeding cycle without making the cattle fatter and that would be a huge benefit for the beef industry.

What causes marbling in beef.

The following factors affect marbling in beef. The presence of marbling has an extremely positive effect on the eating quality of beef in terms of tenderness juiciness moisture and flavour. Marbling is a measure of quality and as such the meat industry is always using meat science to make production more predictable and uniform to boost profits. Marbling is fat so it is largely determined by the diet of the animal and to a certain degree the breed of cattle.

The fat makes the meat softer and easier to chew as there is simply less muscle fibre and collagen per unit volume of meat. Many conditions can cause mottled skin. Graders evaluate the amount and distribution of marbling in the ribeye muscle at the cut surface after the carcass has been ribbed between the 12th and 13th ribs. Beef carcass quality grading is based on 1 degree of marbling and 2 degree of maturity.

But beef marbling is not always a good gauge of tenderness in grass fed beef cattle. A recent beef crc project led by dr paul greenwood principal research scientist at new south wales primary industries has sought to determine if it is possible to increase marbling through the strategic use of high energy supplements immediately post weaning. Certain breeds have higher marbling scores on average due to the way they metabolize food. Marbling intramuscular fat is the intermingling or dispersion of fat within the lean.

Grades are used to assign value to cuts of beef. Wagyu beef for example can be extremely marbled due to its genetics so much so that it s prized for that marbling. Feed and finishing may also impact marbling with grass finished cattle offering a leaner beefier flavor whereas grain finished beef are much milder. Blood circulation problems and blood vessel spasms are two common causes.

More marbling results in a juicier and more tender eating experience. Shock is a serious and life threatening condition. Cattle that are raised on grain will have more marbling than grass fed beef this is fairly intuitive since you can imagine how difficult it would be to get fat by eating grass.